It is the practice
of referring proposals to the electorate at large for approval or disapproval.
Techni-cally, it differs from an initiative, in which voters initiate proposed
law and take direct action on it, and from a plebiscite, which is often used
to describe the process by which constitutions or amendments thereto are either
ratified or rejected.

Why the preference
for "referendum" over "initiative" or
"plebiscite"?An initiative is conducted to introduce or
modify legislation, rather than to alter the fundamental
law. Plebiscite would be appropriate if the
measure we propose were merely to amend the Philippine
Consti-tution. It isn't. The proposal, if approved by a majority of voters in a
particular region, would effectively remove that region from
the present republic. By whatever legal term it is called, however, the vote on
whether or not to partition the country will have the same
effect.

Has such a process
been utilized to determine if a nation-state should be
partitioned?

Yes. In 1995, for instance, a
referendum was conducted in Quebec to determine if that region should break away
from Canada.

Did all of Canada's
voters participate in that vote?

No. Only Quebec's 5
million voters participated. Political separation is a question that is decided
by a particular region, not by the country's entire electorate.
The same principle holds true in civil law, where the right to partition
commonly-held property belongs to each co-owner, a claim by
whom cannot be ignored, rejected, or overridden by his or her peers, however
persuasive their arguments or powerful their
majorities.

What would have
happened had that proposition won the vote?Then that country would have been
divided into Canada and the fresh, sovereign nation-state of
Quebec.

Has such a
referendum actually resulted in partition?Yes. In 1990, for instance, the
electorate of Czechoslovakia went to the polls to decide whether that country
ought to be divided into two. The proposition won in both the Czech and Slovak
regions, result-ing the following year in the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and
the simultaneous creation of the Czech and Slovak
republics.

Are there other instances of such
referenda?

Yes. In the last ten years, to cite a
few examples, Gibraltar held a referendum to decide whether to re-main part of
the United Kingdom or to revert to Spain; and in America, Guam, Samoa, and
Puerto Rico voted to remain integral parts of the United States, rather than
detach themselves from that country to become independent
nation-states.What is the basis
for this practice?

The time-honored principle, enshrined
in the Charter of the United Nations, that "all peoples have the right to
self-determination."

Why schedule the
referendum to coincide with the May 2004 national
elections?

To provide for an adequate period of
intelligent debate, and to pre-empt our central government from claiming that
the process, given that government's dire financial straits, would be
unaffordable. If held alongside the 2004 polls, all that government will have to
do is to add the question to the
ballot.

Will the referendum be derailed if our
central government, for whatever reason, refuses or fails to place the question
of partition on the 2004 ballot?

No. In the event
government chooses to ignore our nations' and regions' inalienable right to
self-deter-mination, those of our regions that possess sufficient political will
will conduct this referendum on their own with the cooperation of reputable and
disinterested third parties such as domestic and international organizations,
local and foreign media, and churches of all faiths. Those regions where the
proposition wins will be expected to declare, and thereafter defend, their
independence.

Does this mean that the referendum will
be held, with or without the cooperation of our central
government?In virtually all of our regions,
yes.

But isn't the consent of one's central
government always required for a region to break away, with or without a
referendum??

Absolutely not. If that were true, then
East Timor, Bangladesh, and America [among many others] would never have been
able to sever their political bonds, respectively, from Indonesia, Pakistan, and
England.

What would happen if, for instance,
only Bangsamoro decides to leave the Philippine
republic?Then that particular region would
become a separate and sovereign nation-state. Elsewhere in the archipelago,
needless to say, the political status quo will
prevail.

What would happen if all of our
regions reject partition?Then the status quo
will be maintained. The significant difference will be that the electorate will
have exercised their right to decide the question. The national government, for
the first time, can validly claim that its authority emanates from the informed
consent of the governed.

Our nations that
will vote for partition -- should they come together to create a larger
nation-state?

That is solely for each
such nation to decide, but geopolitical, economic, and defense interests dictate
that they ought to. It is suggested, for instance, that the nations of central
Philippines come together to create the Visayan Confederacy. Because such an
association is completely voluntary, each member nation will come to the
bargaining table as each other's peer. The central government they agree to
construct will possess no authority other than those expressly delegated to it
by the member nations. In most fededrated/confederated countries, these powers
are generally limited to national defense, foreign policy, citizenship,
currency, and fiscal policy.

What would happen if all
the regions decide to leave the republic?Then all of our
regions become separate and sovereign nation-states. The Philippines as it is
currently structured, like Czechoslovakia and the late, unlamented Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, will cease to exist, replaced by the governments of
their successor states.

The following became nation-states after
partition or secession:·Anguilla from the British
Virgin Islands in 1969.·Anjouan from Comoros in
1997.·Armenia from the U.S.S.R. in 1991.·Aruba from the Netherlands
Antilles in 1986.·Azerbaijan from the U.S.S.R.
in 1991.·Bangladesh from Pakistan in
1971.·Barbuda from Antigua-Barbuda in 1981.·Belarus from the U.S.S.R. in
1991.·Belgium from the Netherlands in 1830.·Bosnia and Herzegovina from
Yugoslavia in 1991.·Colombia from Gran Colombia
in 1830.·Croatia from Yugoslavia in
1991.·The Czech Republic from Czechoslovakia in 1993.·East Timor from
Indonesia in 1999.·Ecuador from Gran Colombia in
1830.·Estonia from the U.S.S.R. in 1991.·Egypt from the United Arab
Republic in 1961.·Eritrea from Ethiopia in
1993.·Gambia from Senegambia in 1989.·Georgia from the Soviet Union
in 1991.·Kazakhstan from the Soviet
Union in 1991.·Kyrgyztan from the Soviet
Union in 1991.·Latvia from the Soviet Union
in 1991.·Lithuania from the Soviet
Union in 1991.·Macedonia from Yugoslavia in
1992.·Mongolia from China in 1911.·Pakistan from British India
in 1947.·Panama from Colombia in
1902.·Senegal from the Mali Federation in 1960, then from Senegambia in
1989.·Singapore from Malaysia in 1965.·Slovakia from Czechoslovakia
in 1993.·Slovenia from Yugoslavia in
1991.·Syria from the United Arab Republic in 1961.·Tajikistan from the
Soviet Union in 1991.·The Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus from Cyprus in 1983.·Turkmenistan from the
U.S.S.R. in 1991.·Tuvalu from the Gilbert
Islands in 1975.·Ukraine from the U.S.S.R. in
1991.·The United States from England in 1776.·Uzbekistan from the U.S.S.R.
in 1991.·Venezuela from Gran Colombia
in 1830.

The following are either threatening to secede or are actively
fighting to secede:·Chechnya from Russia·The
Caucasus from Russia·The Cherkess Region from the
Russian Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia·Caprivi from Namibia·The
Chin State from Myanmar·Southern Bhutan from
Bhutan·Montenegro from Yugoslavia·Kosovo from
Yugoslavia·Tibet from China·Inner
Mongolia from China·East Turkistan [Xinjiang
Uighur] from China·Taiwan from
China ·The Tamils from Sri
Lanka·West Bank and Gaza from Israel·Bougainville from Papua New
Guinea·Scotland from the United Kingdom·Wales from the United
Kingdom·Ulster from England·Ache from Indonesia·Riau
from Indonesia·East Kalimantan from
Indonesia·Sulawesi from
Indonesia·West Papua[Irian Jaya] from
Indonesia·The Spice Islands [Mollucas]
from Indonesia·Lombok from
Indonesia·The Basque Country from
Spain·Somaliland from Somalia·Chiapas from Mexico·Quebec
from Canada·Kashmir from India·Punjab
from India·The Kurds from
Turkey·The Kurds from Iran·The Kurds from Iraq·The
Faroe Islands from Denmark·Saxia from South
Africa·Southern Sudan from Sudan·Abkhazia and South Ossetia
from Georgia·Elsass-Lothringia from
France·Brittany from France·Epirus from Albania·Flanders from Belgium·St. Kitts from St. Kitts and
Nevis·Anjouan from Comoros·Padania from Italy·Puerto
Rico from the United States·Hawaii from the United
States·Jura from Switzerland·Crimea from the
Ukraine·Scania from Sweden·Western Sahara from
Morocco·Southern Yemen from Yemen·Nagorno-Karabach from
Azerbaijan·Gagauzia and Transitria from
Moldova·San Andres and Providencia from Colombia·Casamance from
Senegal·Abidjan from Côte de Ivoire·Buganda from Uganda·Western
Zambia from Zambia·Bangsamoro from the
Philippines